Listen on: Apple | Spotify | Amazon Music | Your Favorite Listening App
Do you actually need show notes? And are transcripts even worth the effort? Can you use AI to write your show notes (or rather, should you?)
I am sharing my show notes framework that I've honed over the last 18+ years in podcasting: what to include, what to skip (including my pet peeve filler phrases), and why where your show notes live may shape how you write them.
Show notes have one job: tell the listener what the episode is about. Get in, give the info, get out.
I will be talking transcripts, and why they're worth doing even when they're not perfect. Cleaned up and good enough is GOOD enough.
Plus my honest take on using AI for show notes: where it actually helps, and why it should only ever be your first pass.
Want a second set of eyes on yours? I offer show notes audits and help building AI prompts that still sound like YOU. Reach me at darlenevictoria.com.
Links
Grab free podcasting resources at http://darlenevictoria.com/free Connect with me on Instagram @dvpodcasts Connect with me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darlenevictoria/
-
Darlene Victoria: [00:00:00] Do you actually need show notes? And what about those transcripts? Are they even worth all of the effort? Today, I'm breaking both of those down, what to include, what to skip, and a clear framework so you can stop overthinking it and do it your way with intention. Welcome to Podcasting Your Way, where we explore all things related to creativity and podcasting.
I'm your host, Darlene Victoria. With a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and an Associate's Degree in Business Administration, I've been immersed in the world of web design and digital media since 2001. Now, I'm here to share tips, tricks, and resources to help you elevate your podcasting game. Remember, there are no rules in podcasting, just endless possibilities.
So now, let's podcast your way.
[00:01:00] Hello there. Welcome back to Podcasting Your Way. I'm so glad that you are here for another episode. Today, we're talking a little bit more about some of the logistics of podcasting, and we're talking about show notes. But before I get into that, I wanted to offer a reminder that I am a podcast editor and manager by trade, so if you need help with your podcast, wanna start a podcast, or just need someone to bounce off some ideas and have a consultation, I'm your gal.
You can find more information about who I work with and how I work over on my website at darlenevictoria.com. All right, let's jump into today's topic. We are talking about show notes. When it comes to show notes, I see a lot of them that are either so vague they tell you absolutely nothing about what the episode's [00:02:00] about, or they're so stuffed with keywords and information, they feel like they were written by a bot.
Hello, AI. Neither one is actually helping your listener. So today, I wanna break down what show notes are actually for, what to include, what to leave out, and then we'll also talk about transcripts because yes, if accessibility is important to you, they matter, and no, they don't need to be perfect All right, I am going to take these topics in sections, and the first thing we are going to talk about so we have a whole basis for this episode is what show notes are actually for.
Here's the thing about show notes. They're not marketing copy They're not a teaser. They're not a place to be mysterious about your content, hoping someone will press play just to find out what [00:03:00] happens next. Show notes exist so that someone can figure out very quickly whether this episode is for them or not.
That's it. A good set of show notes should clearly state what the episode is about in plain language. They should help someone decide if they want to listen, when they wanna listen, and how. Maybe they're going to sit down and listen right now. Maybe they're going to save it for later. Perhaps if your episode is a sensitive topic, you mention that in your episode show notes, and they'll know, "Hey, I'm going to bookmark this and listen to it at a time when is best for me."
Maybe they're going to skim the show notes and simply just grab one resource without ever pressing play. Your job is to make the episode usable, not to gatekeep the content behind a click. What to include. Keep it practical. You want a short summary that names the actual topics, [00:04:00] not a vague, "Hey, we cover so much in this one."
If there's a guest, say who it is and why their perspective matters in the conversation specifically. Explain why them for this episode. Also include key themes or takeaways in a format people can skim. I tend to like bullet lists. That tends to work out well. You can actually go back and listen to my episode on podcast chapters, where I have some different ideas on how you can utilize chapters or bulleted lists to make your content easily accessible to people on podcast apps, websites, and so on and so forth.
Also include resources and links that were mentioned in the episode. Also include, because this is something that tends to get missed, is a clear way to listen or subscribe to the podcast. You shouldn't just assume everyone landing on your show notes page or landing on a particular episode [00:05:00] knows where to find you, or they might not even be subscribed.
So having those pieces of information in your show notes is super helpful. Now that there is a foundation of what show notes are and what to include, now let's talk about what to leave out. So this section is going to include some of my own pet peeves, so take that with a grain of salt. Speaking of cliches and phrases that are overused, let's start with those.
This is my opinion, but you should leave out phrases such as, "In this episode," Especially if you're using that as your very first line of your show notes. Specifically when it comes to podcast apps, you have a very limited amount of space in those apps to get in the good information before someone has to click tap more and find out what the rest of the episode is about.
So starting out with, "This week," or, "In this [00:06:00] episode," "This episode is for you if," right at the very beginning, you're using up some really good real estate where you can get in, get the information that your listener wants, and get out of there. Leave out those phrases, "In this episode," as your very first line.
Uh, here are some other ones. "You won't wanna miss this episode." "This episode is for you." In my opinion, and I'm going to be opinionated here, and again, this is Podcasting Your Way, but please understand that there is a method to why I'm mentioning this. These are overused phrases to the point of them almost being invisible or trite.
AI, if you're asking AI to help you create your show notes, those phrases are highly overused. And more practically, again, if you're writing show notes for podcast app platforms, you have l- that [00:07:00] limited space. Why burn your first line on a phrase that says absolutely nothing? People are looking at the app, they're seeing that's in an episode.
They know it's the episode you're talking about. You don't need to use the obvious words to create filler. Get to the actual content faster. The same goes for, like, vague teaser language that hides what the episode is actually about. Because if we're going back to the main reason for show notes, it's to tell your listener as quickly as possible what that episode is going to bring to them.
So saying someone shares something incredible at the 32-second mark isn't really helpful to anyone. It's a tease, yeah, and they might be like, "Ooh, I wonder what happens." It could feel like you don't really trust the content to stand on its own. Podcasting, it's a tool for building trust, for having people get to know, like, and understand who you are and what [00:08:00] you bring to the table.
So overusing certain words or phrases to the point where you lose who you are isn't doing anybody good. And lastly, we're gonna talk a little bit about transcripts more later, but when it comes to the show notes, please try to avoid pasting a full unstructured transcript into your show notes and call it a day.
That's not show notes. That's a wall of text. Length for the sake of looking robust isn't really a strategy. Shorter and clear beats long and padded every single time. When it comes to your audience and your show notes, know who you're writing for and where you actually plan on putting those show notes.
So let me dig into this a little bit more. Know where your show notes are going to live, because that shapes everything about how you write them. So for example, if you have a website, you can have a longer form show notes [00:09:00] on your website that helps with content creation, visibility in search engines. But when it comes to the podcast apps, shorter is going to be better So if you do prefer a longer, fuller format on your website, that can totally work.
More space, more context, easier to link out from, and also do links from within your website, inbound links. So linking from your show notes to maybe another page or resource that is also within your website. In the end, rather than do double work, that same content is most likely going to be what's pulled into the podcast apps anyway.
And on a podcast app, your listener has that small window before they have to tap More. So this is some food for thought. Even if you write a long show note for your website, if you're going to be copying and pasting that and using that also in your podcast host, which then spits everything out to the podcast apps, [00:10:00] lead with what matters first, the episode summary, what they can anticipate from getting from that episode, the topics, the key information.
That all needs to be up at the top. Back in my web design days, we had something called above the fold, also in, uh, journalism, which is put the most important information at the top of the page. So that's above the fold. So the same idea works with podcast apps. If you're going to write a long show note that you do wanna use on your website, totally cool, but make sure you pack it with what's most important first.
Then you can provide more context and information later in the show notes. So either way, pick the format that works best for you and be consistent with it. So if you always wanna write long show notes, cool, go with it If shorter feels more better for your time and energy, [00:11:00] that's fine too. You're already building the foundation now of what show notes are and how to develop them from this episode and from your own lived experience as a podcast producer and host.
When it comes down to it, time and energy, and protecting them are real. So doing one thing well will always beat trying to do everything with absolutely no intention behind it. So pick what works for you. Now, I touched on transcripts and about how you shouldn't really copy and paste your whole transcripts and make it your show notes and call it a day.
But now I wanna dig deeper into actually using transcripts, and why transcripts are worth doing. I do think that transcripts are worth doing, and yes, I don't have transcripts for this particular podcast series, and I should. The good news is that Apple, uh, Apple Podcasts app does create transcripts now automatically for all episodes, but that [00:12:00] does not mean that everybody is listening to your podcast on Apple.
So there are some podcast apps that do not do this. Most are probably starting to use that AI tool to do so, but I do believe that transcripts are worth doing. I do hear that a lot of podcasters skip them because they do feel like extra work, and they can be. But the other thing that comes up with transcripts is, "I got the episode transcribed through an AI tool, and it's horrendous.
There's just too much that I need to fix and format and make it perfect, so I'm not gonna use them at all." Listen, they don't need to be perfect to be useful. Transcripts increase accessibility in a real way. They support listeners who are deaf or hard of hearing. They help people who might be neurodivergent and process written content more easily than audio.
Perhaps maybe they can also help someone who's short on time and simply [00:13:00] wants to scan the transcript before they commit to a full listen. Then this last one, the last reason I always think about when it comes to transcripts, and it's not talked about enough, is if your show covers sensitive topics, there are people who may want to engage with your content but don't have somewhere private to listen.
So a transcript gives them a way in that audio alone doesn't. A cleaned-up, lightly edited transcript is enough You're not publishing a legal document. You're making your content more accessible, and a little goes a long way. All right, a little bit before, earlier in this episode, I touched on very briefly that if you use an AI tool to help you create your show notes, they tend to overuse certain phrases like, "In this episode," or, "This episode is for you."
So let's talk a little bit more about using AI for your show notes. A lot of podcasters are [00:14:00] folding AI into their workflow these days, and show notes is just one of the places it comes up. So you might be wondering, can you use it? Should you use AI for your show notes creation? I say sure, and go in with realistic expectations.
AI tends to default to those overused phrases I mentioned earlier. AI tends to default to a certain sound. To me, it sounds fake, um, when it comes to creating show notes for a podcast episode, and they tend to use those overused phrases like I've mentioned. AI tools also have a real love affair with em dashes.
Oh, those em dashes. Where AI can genuinely help, however, is when you upload a transcript, you can ask it to pull out the main topics. Remember when we talked about bulleted lists and topics, how to [00:15:00] display key topics in your show notes, how that's a good way, a good quick way for people to skim your show notes and see what the episode's about?
That part tends to do... AI tends to do reasonably well, and you can use AI as a tool for a starting point for those topic bullet points Think of your AI friend, your tool of choice, as your first pass. It's not going to be a finished product, nor should it be. It can provide realistic information, but truly it falls flat and isn't as sincere as you can make your show notes.
So this is my take with using AI for your show notes creation. You can do it. You can use it, but always be sure to leave time to finesse it. Make those show notes shine, and make them, make them shine like the top of the Chrysler Building for any of my Annie [00:16:00] Broadway fans out there. Finesse it. Make it sound like you, whether you're working from an AI draft or simply starting from scratch.
Your show notes should sound like you and serve your listener. If writing isn't really your thing, you can also work with a copywriter who gets your show. Investing in a copywriter pays off in ways a quick AI draft just doesn't. Show notes have one job: Tell the listener what the episode is about. Get in, give the info, and get out.
If you wanna go deeper on the topics, that's what blog posts and articles are for. Save the long form for that type of content, and let your show notes do their actual job Here's what it all comes down to when it comes to show notes. They are not the place to be vague, mysterious, or serve up a wall of text.
They exist to help someone decide if this episode is for them. That's it. That's the [00:17:00] whole job. Keep them clear, know your platform, skip those filler phrases and em dashes, and if accessibility matters to you, get that transcript up. Cleaned up and good enough is good enough. That's all I have for this week.
Thank you for sticking with me in this episode. If you have questions on creating show notes for your show, or if you would like someone to review your show notes, give some pointers, if you're interested in a show notes audit, or need some help with the show notes, or maybe creating prompts in AI to help you create show notes that shine but can still sound like you, you can reach me over at darleenvictoria.com, and I'll be glad to help you further.
All right. Remember, it's your mic, your message, your way. Take care, and I'll talk to you again soon. Thanks for listening to Podcasting Your Way. For resources and information on [00:18:00] all things podcasting, head on over to darleenvictoria.com/free. And be sure to connect with me on social media. You can find me over on Instagram at dvpodcasts, or on LinkedIn, Darlene Victoria.
Until next time, keep creating and podcasting your way. This is Darlene Victoria signing out.